James Walter Simpson, 60

James Walter Simpson, 60, of Gravois Mills, Missouri, died peacefully at home on Good Friday, March 29, 2013.

Jim was born to James Harvey Simpson and Laura Marie (Walter) Simpson, July 25, 1952, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and raised in St. Joseph, Missouri.

On April 23, 1973, Jim was united in marriage to his high school sweetheart Carol Ann Miller. To this union one son, James Brent Simpson, was born.

Jim attended Central High School in St. Joseph and was an Eagle Scout before earning a bachelor's of science degree in business administration from Missouri Western State University in 1974. He embarked on a successful career in international lines commercial insurance and earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (C.P.C.U.) professional designation in 1982. Jim’s career took him from Kansas City to San Francisco and on to New York before returning to the Midwest as Chief Executive Officer of Iowa operations in the Quad Cities for Fireman's Fund Insurance Company.

Jim's career was cut short by Multiple Sclerosis in 1994.

After retirement, Jim commanded the respect of corporate America by advocating for the rights of disabled workers to health care.

In 1998, he made the move to Lake of the Ozarks to be close to his mother and father. He immediately found friends at Osage Community Elks Lodge #2705.

Even as his health began to fade, Jim embarked on a new project in 2006, co-founding the news website LakeExpo.com at Lake of the Ozarks.

Above all, Jim was a family man, a steadfast provider and devoted father. He was a man of quick wit and worldly knowledge, grounded by principle and common sense. His answer to most any challenge was, “Do what is right.”

Jim was preceded in death by his mother and father James and Laura Simpson. He is survived by his son James Brent Simpson; sister Cathie Mueller; brother-in-law Gregg Mueller; nephew Ryan Mueller and wife, Melanie, and children Dean and Summer; nephew Todd Mueller and wife, Kay, and children, Grayson and Annalise; niece Piper Hall and husband, James, and children, Jonathan and Noah Fox, all of Little Rock, Arkansas.

A private family service will be held at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Jim & Laura Simpson Family Foundation, c/o Community Foundation of the Ozarks, PO Box 8960, Springfield, MO 65801. The mission of the Simpson Family Foundation is to financially support local non-profit organizations in the effort to feed, clothe, and shelter the less fortunate, and to provide critical services to senior citizens at Lake of the Ozarks.

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